Feb 22 Riding about Perth: A Survival Guide

I'll start out by saying I am a driver, and a rider, both on the roads.

I see it from both sides, from riders taking up a whole lane, to personally being hit by a car turning into me.

Here are a few tips for surviving on various routes around Perth, i'll regularly chop and change this article for up to date info.

1) By far and away the most dangerous thing you can do when riding on a busy road is ride to close to the edge. It sounds silly at first, but glass, kerb/pedal contact and gutters are your biggest enemy, not the 2 tonne pieces of metal speeding past. This will allow cars to still go around you, and will mean you can keep a straighter line, rather than jutting out a metre or so around the edges of some of Perth's terribly kept roads.

2) Treat every car as a quantum particle. I don't mean get the calculator out, i just mean that cars can, and often will, swerve, turn without indicating and seemingly not have a precise location. Treat cars as a meandering goat on the desert.

3) Only use the bike paths when they aren't full of walkers. I mean, those iTossers can't even hear your warning bell and then abuse you for speeding past, after they got scared and jumped out in front of you. A sure fire way to crash and do your collar bone.

4) North of the river, Marmion Ave. is your God, get off the freeway path (shittyhole).

5) It's great to look PRO but make sure you have the goods to back it up. Lest the lycra brigade take your wings.

La Dispute are about to embark on a huge Australian tour that will see them play 15 shows all across the country. The tour will kick off here in WA, with successive shows at Amplifier Bar in Perth and the Newport Hotel in Fremantle on the 5th and 6th of September respectively. We were lucky enough to talk on the phone to drummer and founding member Brad Vander Lugt ahead of these shows. (Banner image by Micala Renee)